In 1992, an operation that restored the loss of hearing in my right ear left me with vertigo. And this completely changed my life. For instance, I had participated in the Vancouver Sun Run three times, but now I clung to my husband on walks. And I could no longer dance, something I’d always enjoyed.

Suggestions about water exercise classes were made, but I'm a non-swimmer with a fear of water, and, because of the vertigo, just walking along the water's edge made me dizzy.

Years passed and my life went on cautiously, until one day we were involved in a car accident. Again, water therapy was suggested to help my recovery. The physiotherapist and I discussed my fear and my problem with vertigo around moving water, so the sessions were held in a small private pool with water only up to our waist. I would remain upright at all times. With that kind of reassurance, I decided that I just might be able to do this.

I had started my therapy clutching the railing or the side of the pool, but, after fourteen sessions, the physiotherapist told me we were going to walk backwards in the water and talk at the same time. Of course I told her this was never going to happen, but, to my complete surprise, I was able to do it.

Although these sessions were booked as a result of the car accident, they were a blessing in disguise, because my feeling of oncoming vertigo in the water had lessened considerably as a result. - Shirley York, Vancouver, BC

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